


Your body is a battleground

by AsterRoc



Series: Reclamation [temporary name for future WinterIron series] [1]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Dissociation, Dissociative Identity Disorder, Everyone Is Poly Because Avengers, F/M, Hurt, Hurt/Comfort, Jarvis lives, M/M, Multiple Personalities, Not Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie) Compliant, Not Iron Man 3 Compliant, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Tony Stark Still Has Arc Reactor, dub-con, movie-level depictions of violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-24
Updated: 2015-12-24
Packaged: 2018-05-08 23:29:00
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,347
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5517125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AsterRoc/pseuds/AsterRoc
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>“He may be my handler,” Winter snarls, “but he’s weak, he doesn’t know what he wants.”  And Winter confidently turns his awareness inwards to Bucky, expecting nothing but confusion, but before he even touches the handler, the Asset realizes he’s made a mistake.  </i>
</p><p> </p><p>As Winter slowly regains his humanity, he becomes increasingly impatient with Bucky’s failure to act upon his feelings for Tony.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Your body is a battleground

**Author's Note:**

  * For [AislingSiobhan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AislingSiobhan/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Feeling Blue](https://archiveofourown.org/works/4307727) by [Potrix](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Potrix/pseuds/Potrix). 



> For [aislingsiobhan](http://aislingsiobhan.tumblr.com/) as part of the Winteriron Holiday Exchange 2015, though I didn’t particulary stick to [their prompt](http://aislingsiobhan.tumblr.com/post/131952188975/hi-im-doing-your-winteriron-exchange-do).
> 
> I have marked this work as containing rape/non-con because I believe in consent culture: without enthusiastic/conscious/informed consent, I'm calling it rape/non-con. Many people would call what's contained herein dub-con instead (and the individuals involved would classify it that way themselves). In short, there is sex, and the consent is questionable on the part of one or more person involved. More detail is in the end notes if you need to see that before deciding whether to read. 
> 
>  
> 
> [Playlist](http://8tracks.com/asterroc/your-body-is-a-battleground)

The Asset nearly trips over the body on the floor when entering the kitchen to acquire food. Maybe if it had been in top form it would have noticed the body earlier, but two factors conspired against it. Firstly, it has been without food for three days, which normally would not be a big deal, but its handler hasn’t been following appropriate maintenance protocol since DC. And secondly, the body, although still alive, is holding more still than is possible for most untrained individuals. The Asset prods the body, the person, with a booted toe. 

The body doesn’t even whimper at the disturbance, but now that the Asset’s eyes have adjusted to the light provided by the city outside the window, it can tell that the body is breathing. The face is tucked tightly into the arms and knees curled up against its torso, but the hair is dark and the build is male and well-toned. The muscles have the shape of function, like a steelworker rather than like a brawler. Mentally running through the residents of the building, the Asset tentatively identifies the inert form as Tony Stark, owner of the Tower, and financier of the handler’s teammate, Steve Rogers. 

And apparently said Tony Stark is having some sort of catatonic episode. This is not something the Asset is trained to deal with. The Asset gently pokes at its handler in the back of its head. Its handler grumbles, coming awake slowly at first, then more rapidly as he becomes aware of their surroundings. 

The Asset retreats to the back of its handler’s head to watch quietly and gather intel. 

Bucky snaps into alertness in the middle of a darkened kitchen, with a man curled up in the fetal position in front of him. He may not be entirely in his right mind himself, but it is self evident that Bucky is at least doing better than this person at this moment. The man is in his late 40s, has dark hair, is whimpering in a little ball, and no intruder alarms are going off, so he must be one of Steve’s Avenger friends. 

“JARVIS,” Bucky softly whispers to the Tower’s AI, “Who is this? And can you raise the lights slightly?”

As a faint glow from the track lighting overhead comes up, the soft tones reply, “that is Mr. Stark, and he appears to be having a dissociative episode.”

Bucky reaches out a hand towards Tony. “Hey, you okay there?” He gently places his hand on the other man’s shoulder, and is surprised when he rolls over, never breaking his curled-up posture, and curls around Bucky’s hand. The blue glow coming from the man’s chest is also a surprise, but Bucky tries not to let it show. He slowly brings his other hand up to the back of Tony’s head and strokes once, awkwardly, and murmurs, “It may not be ok now, but it will be.” And Tony comes apart, one deep gasp and then he’s shaking, crying into Bucky’s knee. 

Even as Bucky continues to gently stroke Tony’s hair, he wonders to himself how he got to this kitchen. Winter must have been in control, and he must have turned things back over to Bucky when he saw Tony. 

Just before the Asset retreats the rest of the way into sleep in the back of their head, it feels a small sense of smugness, that at least now its handler is interacting with someone else. The handler needs that, even if he won’t admit it to anyone.

* * *

The Asset is woken by Bucky attempting to retreat away, attempting to deliberately give him control. A quick poke at the handler’s mind reveals that Tony had been leading him on, that for days after the kitchen incident, Bucky has watched Tony from a distance, manufacturing reasons to be in the same place, blue-gray eyes following his every move, trying with what little stealth the handler possessed to not let his target know, but of course the genius playboy Tony observed anyway. And yet, he hadn’t done anything to discourage Bucky. Not even when Bucky finally reached out over the breakfast table and gently placed his hand upon Tony’s. In fact Bucky heard Tony’s sharp intake of breath before he turned his hand up towards Bucky’s, about to grasp him in return. 

And that’s the moment when Ms. Pepper Potts entered the room, heels of her off-white shoes clacking softly on the tile, peach skirt hugging her hips and yelling “power,” gray blouse flattering without being too revealing. Tony’s face lit up as he jumped up and took two short steps to her before engulfing her in his arms, spinning her around, and kissing her deeply on the mouth. Bucky couldn’t look away, mostly because the entire time Tony maintained eye contact with him, even while kissing Pepper so hard she gasped for air when he finally let her go.

Bucky had let out a squeak, run back to their room, and now his desperate attempt to just go away has woken the Asset. 

And the Asset is enraged at the way Tony has been toying with its handler. 

It only takes eight minutes and twenty two seconds to track down Stark to his workshop. It takes another forty nine seconds to convince JARVIS that he’s actually Bucky and thus get access to the workshop. And it takes three seconds of being in the workshop for Tony to realize that no, it’s actually Winter. Because those three seconds are how long it takes for the Asset to vault over the first workbench, launch itself at Tony, grab the smaller man by the throat with the metal arm, and slam him against the nearest wall. 

A five-foot tall robotic arm begins slapping the Asset ineffectually, so he ignores it. He also ignores the sirens that JARVIS sets off. Instead, he snarls at Stark, his lip rising in a sneer, his eyes cold and steely. 

Tony gasps, but is unable to make any of his famous quips due to the lack of oxygen. 

“You are leading him on,” Winter spits out. “You’re letting Bucky think you care for him, while you have another and are unavailable.” The Asset loosens its grip just enough to allow Tony to gasp in a breath, but keeps his fingers beneath the jawbone to maintain control of the engineer. 

“No,” Tony blurts out between gasps. “Poly, Pep and me, we’re open, we see other people.” 

The Asset lets his nostrils flare deliberately. He can’t actually smell fear, no human can, enhancements or no, but the motion always gives victims the useful impression that he can. The Asset doesn’t speak, simply continues staring into Stark’s eyes: wide and panicked, but at the same time searching the room and Winter’s own person for an opening. 

“Try anything and you’ll be unconscious before you can succeed,” Winter warns. 

Tony’s brown eyes lock back on the Asset’s. Another gasp of air and, “Is this what Bucky would want?” Winter does not loosen his grip in surprise, but he does allow Tony the air to continue speaking. “He’s what, your handler? You’re protecting him?” Winter allows himself to nod slightly, to see where he’s going with this. “What would Bucky think if he knew you were hurting me?” 

“He may be my handler,” Winter snarls, “but he’s weak, he doesn’t know what he wants.” And Winter confidently turns his awareness inwards to Bucky, expecting nothing but confusion, but before he even touches the handler, the Asset realizes it’s made a mistake. 

Bucky comes to with his metal hand around Tony Stark’s throat, the smaller man lifted up on his tiptoes, back pressed against the wall, sirens blaring around them and Dummy repeatedly prodding him in the flank. The air whooshes out of Bucky’s own lungs; he lets go and Tony slumps to the ground, coughing. Bucky backs up a few steps, feeling his own breath come in short gasps, eyes darting around the room, trying to figure out what happened. 

A hoarse whisper grabs his attention. “Bucky?” His eyes snap to Tony, his throat bruising purple already. 

Bucky chokes. _I did that_ , he thinks. _No, **Winter** did that._

He steps back again, wanting as much distance between the body that Winter controls so easily, and this fragile man that he cares so much for, even if Tony is callous in his flirting while having a gal of his own. Bucky is brought up short by a workbench at his back, and with a strangled noise he turns and runs from the workshop. 

Just before the Asset stops paying attention, it catches a glimpse of its handler’s thoughts. 

_I’ve got to find some way to keep Winter away. I can’t let him hurt Tony again._

* * *

Winter stirs in the back of Bucky’s mind as he and Pepper look on while Tony sits and shakes on the floor. Bucky can’t say he’s comfortable with this situation, but Pepper asked him to be here. He’d much rather not have to deal with Tony’s actual lover ever, if he could help it.  
Winter tries to interject, to clarify his handler’s incomplete intel, but Bucky shoves him back down ruthlessly. The Asset subsides and listens, watches, gathers more information. 

“What caused it this time?” Bucky asks.

Pepper shrugs, and JARVIS replies softly from the ceiling, “We don’t know, sir.”

Bucky looks at them sharply, arms aching to hold Tony. “But there’s always a trigger, he told me after the last time, there’s always a trigger.” 

Pepper clutches her arms more tightly around herself. “That doesn’t mean we always know what the trigger is. I mean, it could be that big investor meeting he has tomorrow. It could be the Ten Rings’ involvement in the journalist kidnappings. It could be the modifications he’s trying to make to the Mark LXII. It could be anything.” Pepper throws her arms up in the air. “Besides, I’m not actually sure that’s true, that there’s always a trigger. Sometimes Tony tells people things he wants to be true, not what’s actually true.” She turns her gaze on Bucky with these words, as if trying to communicate a message with her eyes. 

Bucky swallows. Tony had mentioned this thing called an open relationship, where people could go with more than one gal or guy. It was obviously too good to be true from the start, and now Pepper is confirming it. He would back off, he would stay away from Tony, that’s the only thing he could do. 

“Well, aren’t you going to do anything?” Bucky asks, his words clipped with impatience.

“I’ve tried,” Pepper snaps back. “You know if there were anything I could do for him, I would, but every time I try to touch him, he just flinches. JARVIS said you were up, maybe you can do something.” 

“Me?!” Bucky raises an eyebrow in incredulity. Winter suppresses his own response. 

“Oh don’t give me that bullshit. We all know how Tony feels about you.” Pepper brushes a hair out of her face while glaring at Bucky.

And she has right to be irritated. She has just admitted aloud that not only has her boyfriend, her almost-husband, been inappropriately flirting with Bucky, but that everyone knows about it. 

_Poly_ , Winter says, _she’s saying do it, not stop_. Bucky doesn’t hear, he doesn’t want to hear. 

Pepper continues staring at him, and as Bucky continues to do nothing, she finally throws her hands up in the air. 

“Come on, I don’t have all night,” she impatiently bursts out with a gesture towards Tony. “I want him to feel better, you want him to feel better, and he certainly doesn’t want to feel like this. Just hug him already!” 

Bucky shifts his weight from one foot to the other, still unsure. Winter can’t roll their eyes right now, Bucky is in command, but he really wants to. 

“If I may, Sergeant Barnes,” JARVIS’ voice comes from the ceiling, “I believe Ms. Potts is correct.” 

Bucky lets out a heavy sigh, throws his hands in the air, and walks towards where Tony is curled up. 

“Fine. Tony, I don’t know if you can hear me, but it’s Bucky.” The small ball of human shakes a little, but doesn’t curl up any tighter, so Bucky takes that as a good sign, and crouches down next to him. “I’m going to put my hand on your back now, okay? If you don’t want me to, just make some noise or move away or something.” He slowly stretches out his right hand towards Tony, and then gently lays it on his back. His shirt is damp with sweat but cold, and Bucky is surprised to feel Tony push up into his hand, just like he did that first night. Bucky hesitantly wraps his left arm around Tony’s shoulders, and hugs him as Pepper commanded. 

_Finally_ , Winter thinks, and again Bucky ignores him.

“See,” Pepper says. “I knew you’d help.” Surprisingly, her voice sounds fond, and Bucky swallows a lump in his throat. “Okay, I’ll leave you boys to it. Take good care of him, Bucky. JARVIS knows his preferred routine when coming out of an attack. He can also let me know if either of you need me, but I think you won’t.” And with those words she turns and leaves, Tony still curled up in Bucky’s arms. 

In the back of his head, he can just barely feel smugness from Winter, and he shoves it back down. Bucky’s alter brings him nothing but pain.

* * *

Winter decides something needs to be done. This isn’t a mission that his handler has given him explicitly, but it’s clear that Bucky believes the briefings given by Tony and Pepper about their open relationship status to be bad intel, and yet he’s still pining after Tony anyway. So something needs to be done, and he, Winter, is the one to do it. When asked, the Tower’s AI tells Winter where to find Tony (in his workshop, of course), and the AI surprisingly opens the door for him so as to not interrupt his purposeful stride. 

And stride Winter does. He’s seen how Tony watches Bucky move, and Winter’s more in touch with their body than is Bucky. He swings his hips with each step, drawing the engineer’s eyes from the moment he comes into view. The door closes behind him just as Winter reaches Tony’s workbench. This time Winter doesn’t launch himself over it, but slides around it. Only a fan of subtlety when behind the scope of a rifle, Winter reaches out once he is close enough and gently grasps the smaller man’s shoulders with his hands and makes eye contact. 

Tony’s eyes widen slightly and dip down as Winter darts his tongue out to lick his lips. _Hm, yes promising_ , Winter thinks. He can see the engineer’s pulse at his throat, and his heart rate is elevated, another good sign. So Winter licks his lips again, leans forward, and presses their mouths together. 

_Soft, warm, wet_ , he’s surprised how it feels to kiss the other man. Winter has never kissed someone before, and he feels his body reacting. His own heart rate picks up, his breath comes shorter, as Tony slips his tongue between his lips and runs his arms up Winter’s back, first over his shirt, then reaching a hand under to feel his skin. The other man’s hands are rough and calloused, but Winter knows his own right hand is as well. He reaches up with his left hand, the metal one, and grabs Tony’s hair, pulling his head away firmly but not harshly, looks from one brown eye to the other and back again, and while watching him Winter whispers, “Do you want this?” 

Tony rapidly blinks a couple times, then nods firmly. His voice is rough when he replies, “I want whatever you’ll give me.” 

And then their hands are on each other, rapidly stripping their clothes from their bodies. Shirts are pulled over their heads and thrown to the side. Winter’s boots are kicked under a table. Tony’s pants end up thrown over Dummy’s arm, conveniently blocking his camera. Winter picks Tony up and puts him on the workbench and leans down to lick Tony’s cock through his underwear. The engineer gasps, grasps the back of Winter’s head with his right hand, and scrabbles in a drawer with the left. After a number of pauses he manages to fish out actual human lube rather than grease for mechanical gears. He hands the lube to Winter as Tony lifts his hips enough to pull his underwear off. By the time his butt hits the countertop again, the fingers of Winter’s left hand have been coated and while grabbing Tony around the hips with his flesh hand, he insistently circles a metal finger around his opening. 

Tony gasps as Winter’s metal forefinger breaches his opening. Winter glances up to Tony’s face at the sound. His eyes are closed and his jaw slack. Winter stops his motion and waits until Tony whines before moving again, then stops again. Tony’s brow wrinkles and he finally opens his eyes to look pleadingly at Winter, and it is in that moment when Winter sinks his finger the rest of the way in. The engineer lets out a breathy moan as Winter quickly adds a second finger, stretching the two apart. Tony’s opening is warm around his cold fingers, but they rapidly warm and Tony’s eyes snap to his arm as one of the plates shifts to vent heat. 

Winter withdraws his fingers and Tony’s eyes flutter closed at the motion, then open again to watch as Winter runs his slick hand over his own hard cock. Tony licks his lips and watches rapt as Winter gives himself three firm strokes, then pulls Tony off the table and before he can regain his balance on his feet, turns the smaller man around to face the workbench. Winter’s right arm holds on to Tony’s right hip as he balances his hands on the edge of the table. His metal hand lines up his cock at Tony’s entrance. 

They both gasp as Winter presses in slowly and firmly. Winter can feel his heart hammering in his chest. The feeling is nearly overwhelming, it doesn’t seem rational for the sensations from one small part of his body to dominate his senses the way they are, but he has to trust that JARVIS is watching over their security as he cannot focus on anything but the taste of Tony’s shoulder beneath his lips, the smooth expanse of skin under his hands, and the hot clench of Tony surrounding him. 

He pulls back slightly, and manages to suppress his moan at the sensation, then sets up a rhythm. He finds that if he thrusts just so, Tony gasps and clenches around him every time. Winter reaches around with his left hand and grasps Tony’s dick. It is warm and firm against his hand, which has cooled back down to room temperature. His metal fingers are slick from the lube, and Winter strokes him in time with his thrusts. 

A tension begins to build within him, an anticipation for something, and at the same time something is missing, the sex isn’t enough. Winter realizes what he must do. 

Bucky comes to just as the orgasm hits. For a moment he thinks that is what knocked Winter out and himself back in, but then the slight feeling of smugness in the back of his head tells him otherwise. And then he realizes he isn’t alone outside of his head either. In fact, his cock is buried in a beautiful ass, that his last few spurts are still being emptied into the warmth encircling him. 

And that ass is attached to Tony Stark. 

With a small squeak he pulls out quickly and painfully, hearing a gasp from Tony beneath him even as Bucky himself grunts. _Fuck, Tony, fuck!_ He holds his hands over himself, realizing that his clothes are scattered around the room, and steps back slowly. It’s then that Tony turns around, and his face is beautiful, desperate, eyes red with need rather than pain, jaw a little slack, lips red and swollen. Bucky’s eyes are drawn to those lips and when he unconsciously licks his own he tastes a trace of machine oil and bourbon on them and something else that has to be just _Tony_. 

Eyes wide, Bucky grabs his shirt and a pair of pants, and turns and flees. 

Fight or flight, he tries to get Winter to take back over again, but he refuses. They share no words, but Bucky knows Winter did this on purpose. No, not just on purpose, Winter thought he was following Bucky’s own orders. Or at least acting on his behalf, to get him what he wanted. Because Bucky has wanted Tony for so long, so hopelessly, that his alter thought that was his new mission: to get Tony for Bucky. 

When he feels a warm hand on his back, it wrenches a sob from Bucky’s throat, and he realizes that he is sitting on the edge of the helipad with his shirt on backwards and now wearing pants that are too loose and too short, and the hand must belong to Tony. Bucky scrabbles back from the edge and away from Tony. 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t, I won’t, I don’t--” Bucky babbles. 

“Hey Robocop, it’s okay,” Tony soothes. “Why don’t you tell me what happened?” Tony is squatted down on his heels next to Bucky, a dark blue silk robe wrapped around himself. 

“It. It wasn’t. Me.” Bucky looks up desperately hoping Tony will understand, pleading with his eyes. “It was _him_ , it was Winter.”

Tony blinks a couple times. “Yeah, I know.” 

Bucky feels his brows furrow in confusion, and Tony searches his eyes as Bucky can see the gears working inside. Suddenly Tony rocks back on his heels. “ _Shit._ You didn’t want that. _Fuck._ I’m so sorry. Oh man.” He stands up and walks away, wipes his hand over his face. 

Bucky looks up. “No, that’s not it,” and Tony turns back, a hopeful look on his face. “I. I did want that. Want you. But I don’t deserve something as good as you. Someone. And you have Pepper.” 

Tony throws his hands in the air, then crouches back down next to Bucky. “Look, can I touch you?” And with Bucky’s slight nod, Tony puts a comforting hand back on Bucky’s cold back. “I’ve told you before that Pep and I have an open thing. Winter knows that, I think he was just trying to show you too. And you’re everything I could ever want. You’re strong, you’re smart, you’re funny, you laugh at my jokes or at least pretend to, you understand more of what I talk about than most people. And most importantly I trust you. I don’t give my trust lightly.” 

“But you… that was… you had sex with _Winter_.” Bucky looks at his left arm, the metal arm, the symbol of everything he’s been changed into against his will, and gestures with it while talking. “You just said you knew it was him not me, and you did it anyway! It’s him that you want. He’s strong and confident; he’s everything I’m not. I’m weak, and broken, and he’s what’s left over after Hydra broke me, he’s all that let me survive, and sometimes I wish I didn’t! Don’t you get that? They broke me. Again and again. I’ve been destroyed, how could I ever be anything anyone would want?” 

Tony slips his other arm around Bucky, holds his trembling form gently, and begins to rock them both back and forth. “Look. Yeah I want him, but I also want Pepper, and I also want you. You are all different, amazing, and wonderful people. You specifically, you are just incredible. They broke you, just like the Ten Rings broke me, but they didn’t destroy you any more than they destroyed me.” 

This doesn’t make sense to Bucky, and he just sniffles and shakes his head. 

“You said they broke you more than once. That means you picked yourself up after each time. Again and again. Just like I did. Sure you’ve been broken, but so have I, and we’ve both put ourselves back together again after. Every time.” Tony leans back so he can look into Bucky’s eyes. “You are so strong, Bucky. Being broken once doesn’t mean you’re weak. Putting yourself back together again afterwards means you’re strong.” He reaches a hand up and pushes a strand of hair behind Bucky’s ear. “And that’s why I love you.”

Bucky jerks back at these words, and he knows his eyes must be panicked once again. “No, you can’t. You have Pepper.” He stands up, and backs away as he talks. “I can’t do this. You have Pepper. I have to go.” 

He turns and flees again, and this time Tony does not follow him.

* * *

“Sergeant Barnes.” The dulcet tones from the ceiling wake both Bucky and Winter, but the latter mentally rolls over and dozes again as they are not addressed to him. Bucky, too, rolls over and goes back to sleep. 

“Sergeant Barnes!” This time JARVIS’s tone is more abrupt, more urgent, and Bucky bolts upright in the bed with his head pounding. 

“What is it?” he asks, running a hand through his hair groggily. “What time is it?” 

“It’s Sir,” JARVIS replies to the first, “he needs your help, you must wake up now.” At these words, Bucky’s eyes snap open and he comes to full alertness, the pounding in his head receding in favor of a pounding of his heart. 

“What’s wrong, where is he?” Bucky gets out of bed and begins pulling a pair of jeans on over his boxers. 

JARVIS’ reply is succinct: “He’s been kidnapped by the Ten Rings.” 

Bucky curses and drops the jeans, instead moving to the next room over, where the tactical gear is. “Okay, send the details to my phone, and start briefing me.” 

Unfortunately the rest of the Avengers are in Wakanda, attempting to take down an illegal arms dealer with ties to Hydra. It is apparently fortunate that Bucky hasn’t been cleared for active duty yet, as Steve refused to let him join even for a mission with such personal ties for him, as that allows Bucky to be the only one left in the States to help. Apparently the kidnappers had lured in Tony by first taking Pepper. It was notoriously difficult for Tony's enemies to pin down the Iron Man himself, however Pepper didn’t have a suit keyed to her biosignatures. At least not yet, Tony had shown him a prototype of a suit for her just last week. But it was not done in time. 

The Ten Rings had gotten to her new driver, hired so Happy could have a day off occasionally. The driver had kidnapped Pepper. They had put Pepper through on the phone to Tony, who had then willingly walked into their compound unarmed and unarmored, but not before confirming that Pepper was freed and telling JARVIS to initiate operation Ice Storm. 

Operation Ice Storm apparently consisted of informing Bucky and hoping he’d figure something out. 

Winter rouses when Bucky asks his help to fly the quinjet to where Tony is being held, but turns control back over as soon as they land. Bucky creeps through the forest to the base. He lies on his stomach behind a low rise, black tactical gear blending with the shadows under the trees, and examines the terrain through the scope of the sniper rifle. 

The scope which continually trembles in Bucky’s hands. It is hard to get a count of the guards on the door when he can’t hold a bead on them. One? Four? He’s shaking too hard. He knows the layout within the base by heart, JARVIS had shown him the plans he’d hacked while briefing Bucky. But he can’t make a coherent plan. Should he pick them off one-by-one as they leave the base to check out why the others weren’t checking in? If he does that they’ll figure out that Tony has backup and they’ll… Bucky can’t complete that thought. Should he storm the doors and overwhelm the two guards as quickly as possible? But no, then they might sound an alarm and do something to Tony before Bucky could reach him. He can’t decide. 

No option is good, no option has any chance of saving Tony.

But he knows this isn’t true. He’s performed rescue missions before, both in the European theater and then as a tool of Hydra. But no, that wasn’t fully him, his alter was already beginning to form from the horrors of war, and with Hydra he had fully retreated within himself leaving the Asset in charge. 

So Bucky turns inside himself once again. He doesn’t need to use words, but this time he chooses to. _Winter, I need your help. Please, we have to save him, I don’t care what it takes, you can use the body as long as you want, just save him for us._ And with a sense of agreement from his alter, Bucky surrenders himself and is swept away on a tide of cold emotionless purpose. 

Mission: Rescue. Protect.

Winter raises the sniper rifle to his shoulder, eye at the scope. Two quick pulls of the trigger then he ditches the cumbersome gun to run down the slope. It’s quick to remove the closer guard’s glove from his hand and place it on the scanner plate. A moment of holding the hand in place, then another holding the head up so the eye faces the second scanner, and the metal bulkhead opens. The second door has a number pad. It takes just 4.5 seconds to shape the C-4 and place it along the seam of the second bulkhead. The C-4 is detonated while Winter stands behind the first door, and he runs through before the smoke clears.

Resistance inside is token to the likes of the Asset. Silenced gun in right hand takes out agents who appear at the end of the hall. Metal fist to the face takes out agents who appear from doors closer to the Asset. He doesn’t bother to count the bodies that thud to the floor as he rushes down the corridors to the interrogation room. As expected, the target is strapped to a table there with four guards. The first turns towards the door as Winter kicks it open and slides across the floor. A bullet to the head takes him out before he can pull off a shot. Winter skids into the second guard feet-first, knocking him down. Left fist to the head of the second guard and another bullet into the center of mass of the third. The second guard doesn’t get back up, but the fourth is now shooting. A bullet ricochets off the Asset’s left arm and he throws the empty gun at the fourth guard. His flinch gives Winter enough time to grab a Widow’s Bite disk from his right hip and throw it at him. Guard number four convulses and drops as the third guard jumps onto Winter’s back and wraps a hand around his throat to choke him. He simply reaches behind his back to grab the woman by the back of her shirt and throw her across the room into a wall headfirst. She does not get back up, and the Asset turns his attention to releasing the target. 

Leather straps restrain each limb in two places, over his pants on his legs, and over his naked arms. Another strap immobilizes his head, and wires are attached to the power source in his chest. The man’s face is sweaty and pale, like he’s been drugged. The wires could be draining energy from the arc reactor, but it is possible they are wired to cause a short circuit if removed improperly. Rather than free him immediately, the Asset lightly taps on his cheek to gain his attention. 

Brown eyes struggle to focus on Winter’s icy blue, then blink a few times. “Bucky,” he asks in a slurred voice. 

“Close enough,” Winter growls back. “You need to tell me the right way to disconnect you.”

More blinking, then, “Winter? What’s going on?” 

The Asset is too professional to grumble aloud, but he reaches into a pocket on his waist for the adrenaline shot. It’s risky, but disconnecting him without guidance is too, and Stark is not in any condition to help. With a quick motion the Asset pulls the caps off the epipen and presses it against the man’s thigh until he feels the jerk of the needle releasing. Stark flinches at the shot, then blinks his eyes. He still looks in horrible shape, and will need emergency medical attention as soon as they can get clear, but he seems to be getting ahold of himself. 

A couple more blinks, and Winter feels safe to release him from the straps, as together they disconnect the wires in the proper sequence. The alertness lasts just long enough for the Asset to pick him up and begin carrying him back to the quinjet. Stark may not be that heavy, but he is awkward, and Winter is glad that he did not have to also rescue the bait, Pepper Potts. 

When Winter delivers Tony to the SHIELD ER, he glares Tony into staying long enough to get checked out, and wakes Bucky to take over again when Nick Fury corrals them for a debriefing. 

Subdued and infinitely relieved at Winter’s success, Bucky lets Tony field the questions. It doesn’t take long for Tony to become frustrated, but the final straw is when Fury starts attacking Bucky for going into the field. 

“You know what, you asshat,” Tony snaps. Fury raises the eyebrow on his good eye. “If Bucky hadn’t come out into the field for me, then either I’d be dead or my technology,” and he taps his fingernails against his now-covered arc reactor, “would be in the hands of a known terrorist organization on the international watchlist. I think he did exactly the right thing, and we’re not going to put up with your bullshit anymore.” Tony turns to Bucky. “Let’s go, sweetheart.” Tony grabs Bucky’s hand and practically drags him out of the room.

“Where are we--” Bucky attempts to protest.

“A closet,” Tony replies. He opens the first door to find a meeting in progress. Tony doesn’t even apologize as he shuts the door and moves on. 

“For--” Bucky starts again, and is cut off again.

“Celebratory sex.” He yanks open another door to an empty conference room. “Yes,” he cheers and drags Bucky inside. 

“But Pepper--” Bucky says, unsure if he's protesting that Pepper wouldn't want that, or that Tony would want to check on her, but either is cut off by the sight of Pepper herself before them. Her hair is tied back in a severe ponytail. Her white blouse is immaculate despite her own kidnapping experience. Her gray skirt is rumpled, primarily due to the harness tied around her hips and the blue silicone cock sticking out from under the skirt in front. 

Which she has thrust into the ass of a white man in his 50s, brown hair receding back above his temples as he turns to the intruders, wearing an impeccable black suit with the pants pushed down around his knees, as he leans on his hands on the table in front of them, and takes Pepper’s cock in his ass. 

“Damnit, Tony!” Pepper yells at him. “Go find your own room! We’ve claimed this one.” 

“Oops,” Tony says.

“Um,” Bucky says.

Tony whirls around towards him. “See!” He points the hand not holding Bucky from Pepper’s cock to the man leaning on the table. “I told you! Open! Our relationship’s open. See? Now can we go have celebratory sex?”

“Um,” Bucky says again, eloquently. 

Pepper rolls her eyes, and her shoulders slump. The man groans slightly as she shifts within him. “Really, Tony? You still haven’t convinced him?” She sighs. “Bucky, we’re busy here. You and Tony go have sex. Please? For me?” 

“Um.” 

Tony turns liquid brown eyes on Bucky, and tugs Bucky’s arm. Pepper thrusts slightly, and the still unnamed man gasps. Bucky’s eyes snap to the man, and he can feel his heart rate increasing even as he involuntarily licks his lips. 

“Um. Okay.” 

A grin splits Tony’s face. He turns it towards Pepper. “It’s Christmas for Tony! Thanks Pep, have fun.” He turns around and drags Bucky back out into the hall, goes to shut the door, then has a thought and pokes his head back in. “Hey Phil?” 

The man turns his face sideways where it’s laid on the table, his cheek pressed against the wood, and manages to breathe out a “Yes?”

“You’re going to have to tell me later how you did it.” 

Pepper pulls back again, and the man, Phil, seems to regain a bit of his senses. “Did wha--” his breath whooshes out again as Pepper pushes in forcefully again, pulling his hips back to be flush with hers. 

“Y’know.” Tony waves his free hand. “Survived that whole spear through the heart thing.” 

Pepper rolls her eyes and interrupts. “Oh, just go fuck Bucky already, Tony.” 

He holds up his hand defensively. “Okay, fine fine, going!” 

Bucky’s head swims as Tony continues to check other doors down the hall. Apparently they were right, Tony and Pepper and Winter. 

Bucky pokes at the consciousness in the back of his head that is his alter. _Mm?_ is the groggy response. This time Bucky doesn’t use words, but just sends back gratitude. Gratitude for pushing him to get together with Tony. Gratitude for saving Tony when he couldn’t do it. Even gratitude for helping him to survive the war and Hydra. 

Winter sends back a smile. Maybe Bucky’s alter isn’t all that bad after all.

**Author's Note:**

> Regarding the non-con/dub-con warning: Bucky and Winter inhabit the same body, with Bucky as the primary personality. Winter initiates sex with Tony, but turns over consciousness to Bucky in the middle of the act. Tony does know it's Winter and gives verbal consent to the act. Bucky worries that he raped Tony. Tony worries that Bucky was raped since Bucky didn’t give consent beforehand. Bucky’s only hang-up about sex with Tony is that Tony is in an open relationship with Pepper, but Bucky doesn’t understand/believe Tony about that so he didn’t want to do anything with a guy who’s already taken. 
> 
> Use condoms or other barrier methods folks unless you’ve both been tested and talked about it first!
> 
> Sources for the cover art and for inspiration below. 
> 
> Cover art credits:
> 
>   * [Bucky](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/83/5f/9f/835f9fe2a097e0d7e5c99d04c1ad7f90.jpg)
>   * [Tony](http://dsky9.com/rift/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/tonystark_wide-07d575bcc16626c74f8809459359eec52b4752b0.jpg)
>   * [Background](http://waitq.deviantart.com/art/grungy-blue-texture-413533214)
>   * Title from and cover art inspired by the [work of the same name by Barbara Kruger](http://www.thebroad.org/art/barbara-kruger/untitled-your-body-battleground#) and the [analysis here](http://www.thecrimson.com/column/the-art-of-protest/article/2014/4/9/art-of-protest-your-body-is-a-battleground/). It seemed really apropos for this work because both Bucky’s and Tony’s bodies (and minds) bear the scars of the battles they’ve fought for the control of their own destinies, even as both of them have been remade into the images that other people envision for them. 
> 

> 
> I attempted to treat Bucky’s DID and Tony’s PTSD with respect. To this end, I read the accounts from a few people with DID, most importantly on [MedicineNet](http://www.medicinenet.com/dissociative_identity_disorder/discussion-396.htm) and [Quora](https://www.quora.com/What-is-it-like-having-dissociative-identity-disorder). Any errors that remain in my depiction of DID or PTSD are entirely my fault. 
> 
> The full playlist is on 8tracks [here](http://8tracks.com/asterroc/your-body-is-a-battlefield) and consists of
> 
>   1. Your Body Is a Machine - The Good Natured 
>   2. The Monster (feat. Rihanna) - Eminem 
>   3. Money - Mystery Skulls 
>   4. Counting Stars - OneRepublic 
>   5. Icarus - Bastille 
>   6. Power & Control - Marina and The Diamonds 
>   7. Love The Way You Lie (Part 2) - Rihanna feat. Eminem 
>   8. Possession (Acoustic) - Sarah McLachlan 
>   9. Fire Breather - Laurel 
>   10. Fuck U Betta - Neon Hitch 
>   11. Flesh - Simon Curtis 
>   12. Warm Lonely Planet - The Mountain Goats 
>   13. Fragile (America: A Tribute to Heroes) - Sting 
>   14. Something I Need - OneRepublic
> 

> 
> Much thanks to [@trickyarchangel](http://trickyarchangel.tumblr.com) for the encouragement when I was overthinking things. :) Their suggestion to make Winter the main POV character finally let me bang out all the ideas into a story. After finishing I then realized that I’d gone and done a Phantom of the Opera, in that the [focal character](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Focal_character) is Winter while the protagonist is Bucky. I could go on about POVs for hours though and this isn't the place for that; maybe I will [on my tumblr](http://asterroc.tumblr.com). [not_poignant](http://archiveofourown.org/users/not_poignant) and [Eustacia_Vye](http://archiveofourown.org/users/eustaciavye/pseuds/Eustacia%20Vye) also let me grumble at them a bunch about how hard it is to write hurt/comfort.
> 
> Update 21 May 2017: This work will hopefully have a sequel in the future (I'm still in the ruminating stage), so created a series for subscription purposes.


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